Gulistan schools in Kosovo to continue education despite its abducted teachers


Date posted: April 3, 2018

HizmetNews, April 3, 2018

Gulistan Educational Institutions has declared that they will continue their activities despite their abducted teachers. 5 of their teachers were abducted by Turkish Intelligence Agency in cooperation with Kosovo’s intel agency, which shocked the global education community and protested in many countries including USA, Canada, and UK.

Gulistan Educational Institutions underlined democracy, rule of law and human rights in the declaration.

Below is the full text of the declaration:

Gulistan Educational Institutions began their educational activities in the year 2000.

These institutions were opened as a result of the demands by the Albanian people of Kosovo who were impressed by the humanitarian and educational aid offered to them by the staff of Mehmet Akif College in Tirana during the latest war when the Albanians were forced to flee the country because of the discrimination, violence, and genocide of the serbian military and police forces.

Our institutions right from the very first day of their activity have fully complied with the laws and regulations of the Republic of Kosovo. We have given special importance to the quality of teaching and learning. Lots of achievements can be counted in various aspects of knowledge, science on national and international scale (up to now 238 medals in international olympiads and contests).

The quality of our schooling can be easily proved by the number of 2000 graduates who have carried on their university education in the best universities in the country and 28 foreign countries.

As all the public opinion already knows, on 28 March 2018 five of our colleagues were kidnapped illegally and forcefully against democratic principles which above all respect individual rights of any person regardless ethnicity identity, religion, political or ideological views.

These principles are irrevocable and they are embodied in Kosovo`s constitution and laws.
All the staff, our students, parents and families, all the citizens of Kosovo have been deeply affected by this tragic event.

We inform the public opinion that Gulistan Educational Institutions will use all rights as guaranteed by European and international conventions, the Constitution and laws of Kosovo to bring to justice all people and institutions who assisted in the kidnapping act by breaking all laws protecting human rights.

We believe that Kosovo as a democratic state constructed in compliance with high standards will handle and sort the individual and institutional responsibility of all actors involved in the late appalling case, respecting the norms of law and European values. Let us make sure that such an event, which might threaten our European path, won’t happen again in the future.

We inform our students, parents, their families and all public opinion that we are determined to go on with our educational activity in spite of this unfortunate event.

Education and planned teaching will go on with the same quality and proficiency. We are going to take immediate steps to replace our kidnaped teachers.
We would like to thank all the people who supported and never abandoned us in such a sad and tough situation.

Thanks
Our students,
Parents,
Graduates,
Press & Media,
All leaders of State Institutions,
Ambassadors and International Organizations and Missions leaders, Civil Associations.

We also thank all volunteers who help us to express and transmit our sorrow and disappointment through social all over the world media.

Hoping that such an event won’t ever happen again.

 


Related News

Hizmet will continue its mission regardless of attacks

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who, along with the faith-based Hizmet movement, has been subjected to numerous attacks from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has said the movement will continue to perform its mission regardless of circumstances.

Witch-hunt-targeted mother dies in Kabul, family could not attend funeral in Turkey

İsmail Eyüpoğlu (42), who has been living abroad for 25 years, lost his wife early in the morning on Saturday, February 3. He was straddled between the idea of going back to Turkey with his children and bid farewell to his wife for 18 years in her last journey and on the other hand, the fear of being arrested at the airport and sadden his two children.

2 Turkish teachers killed in Somali school bus attack

Two Turkish teachers working in Somalia have been killed along with 4 Somalis after a school bus was targeted. Four Turkish school children were wounded in the attack along with a Kenyan student according to preliminary reports.

The Guardian view on the week in Turkey: coup – and counter-coup?

Now, with the European convention on human rights suspended and a six-month state of emergency that allows President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to rule without parliament – although thousands still turn out nightly in his support – some are beginning to wonder if the cure has turned out to be little better than the original threat.

Once lauded as model, Turkey’s Africa initiative loses momentum

One of the main reasons behind the loss of momentum in Turkey’s once-intense efforts to boost relations with African states is the Turkish government’s effort to win domestic battles at any cost. In one such attempt, the Turkish government started to work on a plan to get states to close down Turkish schools abroad that are affiliated with the Hizmet movement, which is inspired by the teachings of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and known as one of Turkey’s most important soft-power instruments.

Int’l Gandhi Jayanti Conference on ‘Education as a Basic Right of Humankind’

One of the striking activities of Indialogue, is annual Gandhi Jayanti conference focusing each year on different trajectories of Gandhian thoughts and intellects. Research papers addressing Gandhi’s perspective and other treasured philosophical trends are invited from different academic disciplines.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Disregard call to close Turkish schools – Proprietors tell Nigerian govt

‘Selam: Bahara Yolculuk’: a true story on the big screen

Philippine House speaker receives Turkish school delegation

Islamic scholar Gülen files libel case against PM Erdoğan

The First Private Kurdish TV Channel in Turkey

Gulen Movement Educates Kurds, and not Everyone Is Happy

Turkey’s AKP planning to blame Hizmet movement for Deep State’s crimes

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News